Personality Isn't Permanent

Selective ignorance is something that must be applied if you’re serious about becoming your future self. Your input shapes your identity, biology, and personality. When you change your inputs, all of these change.

One of the most useful and powerful forcing functions is financial investment. By investing money into something, you become more committed. Behavioral economists call this the “sunk cost bias.” You commit to what you’re invested in. This is usually described as a fallacy, or a mistake in reasoning that makes you throw good money after bad, or wast... See more

If you are going to really become your future self, you need an environment that reminds you of that future self, not your former self. Goals don’t become realities without constant reminders. This is why people write down their goals every single day. They need to remember where they’re going, just like an airplane needs to constantly update its t... See more

If you were to lose a person you love, you wouldn’t just lose that person but also the person you were when with them. All loss includes a loss of yourself. And conversely, meeting new people or entering new relationships leads to the creation of a new self.

Seth Godin, who purposefully doesn’t read the comments on Amazon about his books. He used to do so, but it only left him feeling horrible and questioning himself. So now he has stopped.

In order to create an environment that shields you from the distractions in this world, you need to know what you want. You need to know what you stand for. You need to have rules and systems that stop you from finding yourself in a mire of filth or the daze of endless opportunity.

It is never too late to find, or to be, an empathetic witness to trauma. In fact, if you’re serious about transforming your life, you need to surround yourself with a whole new cast of friends, mentors, and supporters. You need people you can talk with openly about your struggles.

In the words of university president and religious leader Dr. Henry Eyring, “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble and you will be right more than half the time.”

Antetokounmpo is defined by his goals, not his previous accomplishments or failures. He’s defined by what he’s going to do next. He’s chasing his future self, and that’s why he’s continually successful.